Dark Moonlight
by Shaymi-san
Summary: In truth, this is a bonus story I made in honor of my friends and readers. Thx all for commenting and reading my stories. Characters and storyline made up by me and my dreams. Hope you enjoy it and plz comment.
1. The Armithian Task Force

Chapter 1: The Armithian Task Force

**(Normal POV)**

"Mom! This is it! The time I can finally be part of the force!" yelled Michelle. She grabbed her bag and ran out the door before her mother had the chance to say 'Be careful out there.' As she ran towards the tall building that lits the eerie streets, two boys emerged.

"Hey Mitchie, where do you think you're going?" the buff one said, cracking his bones and forming a fist. Michelle halted to a stop.

"Isn't punching girls a big rule to boys?" He laughed.

"Not with us." Giving an exasperated sigh, she marched past the two boys. "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!"

"I don't have time for you two knuckleheads." The two boys looked at each other in confusion.

"Sheesh, what a bitch. Lets find more scardy-cats to beat up."

"Yeah." agreed the shorter boy.

**(Daniel's POV)**

"Sir, we have a problem." said one the elite guards. I waved my hand, exiting the door that leads to flight area A-1. Lights flashed on as I emerged.

"Yeah? What?" I asked, hopping into one of the Flight Pods.

"The Leaders had changed the rules of Flight Pods." My hand hesitated from pushing the ignition button.

"What?"

"Sir, the rules now state that in order to fly the Flight Pod, you need two people to operate." In frustration, I threw my hands in the air.

"Now what kind of a stupid rule is that?!"

"I'm sorry sir, but the Leaders have already established it." Ergh.

"How am I supposed to find a capable partner who would adapt to my decisions?"

"There's always Crysti-"

"No way. I'm not going to have Crystina as my partner. She's too stubborn to listen to anybody." I looked at the murky sky through the large window overcast. It had always been this murky ever since the Abyssal Lord came in. That was also the start of the Armitian Task Force. I tugged on my green cap.

"Sir, I know that you're one of the top three flight pilots and achiever of the Sacred Trust medal, but expectations must be met."

"Fine." _Beep Beep Beep!_ The elite guard looked at his CamWatch. I hopped out of the pod.

"Sir, it seems that a newbie has entered the building." I walked away, waving my right hand.

"Uh-huh. Same stuff. Newbie walks in with pride, and walks out with utter failure. This has been going on for a while."

"But sir, before you jump to conclusions, shouldn't we watch how she performs?" I turned my head. A girl? How rare these days.

"Alright fine. But I really prefer solo."

"Shall we head to the observatory sir?"

"Yeah."


	2. Flight Test Malfunction

Chapter 2: Flight Test Malfunction

**(Michelle's POV)**

"_State your name and your reason here._" boomed the speakers. I walked to the middle of the white, spotless room and froze.

"Michelle Allinia, here to become a member and soldier of the Armithian Task Force!" I yelled out. Silence echoes in the air and a few fits of snickers were heard. Bits of their words were heard.

"_Hahaha...girl...soldier...this is rich...one...Crystina...failed...became nurse...stubborn lass..._" I smirked. This kind of thing is expected. Boys. They have never seen the greatness of girls. I flipped my black hair (with a yellow streak) from my face. Then, the laughter stopped. "_Alright, test no.1, pick your weapon._" At that instant, the floor to the right opened and a table with varieties of weapons appeared. I walked over to see a bow, a laser gun, a bazooka, and a...SLINGSHOT?!

"Is this a joke?" I asked, pointing at the wooden slingshot. The speaker made a static sound.

"_Actually yes, now pick already._" Bastards. I carefully picked up the blue laser gun. For some reason, it started to glow in my hands.

**(Daniel's POV)**

"Sir, isn't that what happened to you when you picked up the laser gun too?" asked elite guardian. I nodded.

"Yeah." My eyes trailed from her midnight and yellow streaked hair to her green eyes. Confidence. Huh, seen it all the time, yet failure happens. That's the main enemy of a person. One cannot have too much confidence. Her green eyes shifted from one side to another as if expecting for some sort of trap. Well, there is. The room's light suddenly turn off and a red, eerie light shone in the room. Usually, the newbies would freak out and cry in fear, but this one seems to be strong willed. With a plain black t-shirt and blue jeans, she seems pretty vulnerable. But luckily, we have uniforms. _Uniform mode, activate. _

"Wha?" said the newbie - Michelle - before a blue ring slowly ran down from her head to her feet. The black t-shirt changed into a black sleeveless tank top, showing her midsection and the jeans changing into slim leggings with a belt included. Also, her old sneakers changed into a pair of green stainless steel boots. They may look heavy, but they're really light. The siren sounded and the walls opened, pouring out many robots (Demoes, they're called) armed with bazookas. "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!"

"_Test no.2, Fight._"One launched a missile, barely missing her head as she shifted backwards. An explosion was made behind her. Quickly, she hopped onto a Demoe, causing another Demoe to shoot and explode its companion. This went on until there was one left. Smart.

**(Michelle's POV)**

"Alright, you damn robot, c'mon! Take a shot here!" I shouted, pointing at my head. It may look suicidal, but I have a plan. The robot launched its missile at me, and all at once, everything was at slow motion. I jumped onto the missile, shot the robot's eyes so that it won't launch another, and turned the missile towards the damaged Demoe. Right before it made contact and exploded, I jumped off, making a perfect back-flip and landed on my feet several feet away from it. Take that, doubters. The whole room was silent once again, but I could hear some utterly surprised gasps and some stutterings. Finally, one guy gulped and turned on the microphone.

"_T-test no.2 complete._" I punched the air.

"Yeah! WOOHOO!"

"_Test no.3, flight._" Finally! Some real excitement! Some murmurs were heard through the speakers. "_Are you sure? The new rules state that you need two people in order to operate the Flight Pods...we need a professional for this...I don't know...should we call for him...ok._" I stood there, completely confused. A new rule? Since when was there a new rule here? The speakers buzzed. "_Daniel Aranot, please report to the observatory._" I turned to see a boy (about my age which is 17) trying to sneak out. Unfortunately for him, some guy in a suit of armor grabbed him by his lime green scarf, stopping him from his escape. His short, black hair shifted and flew to his face. "_Ah, there you are Daniel. Please enter the area and guide our...female warrior to the flight deck._" After a few moments of kicking the ground patiently, the door to this room opened, revealing Daniel. I could've sworn that my face grew bright pink. He wore a black baggy jean with a belt, a pair of those metallic green shoes, a green scarf (not like those winter ones but like what the old cowboys used to wear), an emerald cap, a green wrist communicator, and a black tank that doesn't show the midsection. Speaking of which...

"Ah! Umm...meh..." I stuttered, looking down and trying to cover my bare belly with my hands. Good thing I'm thin...

"It's fine. All female uniforms are like that." I froze and looked into his sea blue eyes. Oh shit.

"Umm...heh...ah..."

"Anyways, follow me." He motioned towards himself and walked out of the room.

"H-hey! Wait!" I ran out of the room and continued till I caught up with him. "S-so, how long have you been working here?"

"I wouldn't say working. More like serving for this country." he said, looking straight ahead without looking at me.

"Okay, so, how long have you been serving for Armadia?"

"So far...five years and thirteen days."

"Wow! You were only twelve when you first came here?" He halted.

"How did you know I'm seventeen?"

"You looked like you were my age." Nodding, he continued to lead the way. My eyes wandered around, taking in all of the epicness of this place. Crystal lamps hanging from the ceiling, luxurious furniture and delicacies. It's hard to imagine that this is where all soldiers live. In fact, I was so focused on the surroundings, I didn't even notice Daniel stopping. And I smacked right into him. "Sorry!"

"It's fine. Well, we're here." I peeked over his shoulder to see silver bullet shaped Flight Pods. Wow. We walked to a Flight Pod, and I started to inspect its interior from the overhead window. In fact, the front top half of the Pod was a large window. Similar to those jets the other countries used. But a bullet shaped. I stared inside, disbelievingly. WHERE ARE THE CONTROLS?! All I saw was a plush looking bed with a long pillow, and a red button. Suddenly, the window opened forward, causing me to back away in surprise. Daniel walked to the capsule's side and gestured towards it. "Well, hop on in." Many thoughts bombed my mind and I guess he saw me blushing cause the next thing I knew, he said,"And please refrain from having dirty thoughts."

"Heh," I said, sheepishly scratching the back of my head. Carefully, I laid down onto the soft, plushy bed or whatever. After a few checkups on the capsule, Daniel hopped in and pulled the cover back.

"Alright, start the engine." I looked at him, dumbfounded.

"Eh?"

"Start the engine." I gazed around until I noticed the red button on his right side. And I'm on his left side...oh C'MON! My arm stretched across him, trying to not touch him (or I'm going to explode due to my heated face) and pressed the button. At once, the bullet started to shake and the whole capsule started to lift from its place. My fingers started to tingle and I saw blue rope-like beams connecting from my fingers to the bed. Actually, the whole bullet sprouted wings in the back, illuminating blue. _Passenger one, detected. Welcome, Daniel Aranot._ Then, the whole color of the aircraft and the beams turned to lime green._ Passenger two, detected. State your name._ I looked at Daniel, who simply nodded.

"Michelle Allinia." _Beep Beep Beep! Welcome, Michelle Allinia. _Awesome.

"Okay, now since your identity was checked, try moving the craft forward."

"What?"

"Move it forward."

**(Daniel's POV)**

Michelle stared at me questionably, not knowing what to do. I sighed and pointed my index fingers forward. I didn't think she saw that because then, she lifted her upper body and made the craft zoom forward. And I mean FAST.

"LEAN BACK! LEAN BACK!" I practically screamed. She quickly leaned back, which stopped the aircraft.

"What kind of an aircraft is this?! A motion detector?!"

"Yeah, and careful, the sensors are extremely sensitive."

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT EARLIER?!"

"I THOUGHT YOU LEARNED IT IN THE PACKET!" All was quiet afterwards.

"..."

"You could've lifted your head only to see what I was doing."

"..." Giving an exasperated sigh, I pointed to the left.

"Alright, turn left."

"But...I...didn't read the packet."

"Go figure. Turn your body slightly to the left." Obeying, she did turn. "If you want to turn left or right and keep moving, you simply lift your chest a bit while turning. Okay, now that you know that, let's get back to the Headquarte-" But before I could end my sentence, a laser hit the right wing of the ship. Oh no, the Abyssians. AT A TIME LIKE THIS?! "Shit! let's go!" I yelled, pushing down Michelle and steering the ship. Unfortunately, since the starboard was severely damaged, we started to plummet down to the ground. BEEP! BEEP! MALFUNCTION! MALFUNCTION! MALFUNCTION! "HOLD ON!" After a few moments, everything turned black.


	3. Stranded Love

Chapter 3: Stranded Love

**(Daniel's POV)**

Ugh...ow! I opened my eyes to see pieces of rubble and metal. Sadly, I didn't notice a sharp metal piece jutting out of the debris so it sliced my left arm. I quickly covered the cut with my hand, trying to apply pressure to stop the bleeding. Using my good arm, I managed to push off some rubble and climbed out. Wait...MICHELLE! I stumbled to the left side of the wreck and gripped onto the huge rock. It wasn't budging, so I used a scrap piece of the craft's metal to lift the rock. After that was done, I started to claw at the debris, receiving several small cuts on my fingers. Thank goodness I'm wearing my fingerless gloves or else I would've received a gash on my palm. I noticed an arm an I grabbed it, pulling with all my might. A few moments later of pulling her arm, she popped out of the debris...and fell onto me. I looked up to see her laying unconscious, her head resting on my chest.

"Mmmm..."

"Michelle?"

"Mmmm..."

"..."

"Cookies...waffles...yum..." I sweat-dropped. What?

"Umm, Michelle?"

"Mmmmff...Danny?" Her eyes opened lazily for a second until her eyes snapped open. "AH!" She quickly got off of me and looked around, panic stricken and blushing scarlet red. "Wha-Where? Where are we?" Then, she gazed at the totaled aircraft. "Oh no..." I got up, smacking the back of my tank and pants, sending bits of dirt flying off.

"We're...we're in an uncharted area."

"Are you sure?" I checked my communicator watch and only heard static.

"Yep."

"So now what?" Good question.

"I guess we have to wait for the search parties to find us. In the meantime, let's find some firewood in this...forest."

"Hoot hoot! Hoot hoot!" hooted a barn owl. Aw shit, nighttime in forests. My choice of regions are either vast and arid like the deserts, or rocky like the mountains. But forests? Never.

"And...you know what? Let's go together. The forest can be dangerous at dusk." Michelle nodded. I plucked out my laser gun, just in case. "So, what's the shorter version of your name?"

"Hmm? Oh, just call me Miki."

"Alright, that way, we can call each other when we need any assistance. If one of us in deep trouble, we'll use these and call each other by our actual names." I handed her my spare communicator and wrapped it on her arm. Cricket chirps echoed though the darkness. After picking up several logs and twigs, we tossed them, forming a pile. I flipped the lever on my laser gun to change it's color into red. Red for flame shooting, blue for lasers and green for grappling hooks. Comes in handy in most situations. I blasted a fireball from the gun and watched the wood catch on fire. Thankfully, it was on a patch of dirt instead of the dry grass. I plopped myself down on the grass across from Miki. I forgot all about the cut on my arm until I heard a gasp.

"Danny, you're hurt!"

"Eh, don't fret about it. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? It's bleeding pretty badly." My eyes snapped open. I looked at my arm to see blood gushing. Shit. Before I had the time to react, Miki took out her handkerchief (is that silk?), ran to me, and wrapped it around the wound tightly.

"Umm, thanks?"

"Stay here, I'm going to find some water to clean off the blood."

**(Michelle's POV)**

Water. Water. Where would he keep the supplies? I ran over to the back of the craft and ripped the back off. Wow, I guess in desperate times, you get stronger. I peered inside to see assortments of...wires, plugs, and other things that aren't useful. Including a metal slingshot. Sheesh, not that again. I picked it up and hooked it to the side of my belt. Then, I took the blue blanket that was laying beside the slingshot.

"The aircrafts don't carry any supplies but emergency blankets!" I heard Danny shout. Yeah, I kinda found that out already. I walked back to our site and draped the blanket over his head. "Hey..." I laughed as he pulled it off along with his cap. Okay, forget his cuteness. This boy is HOT. His hair was soft and made a medium sized point on the top left (his right) side of his head. Not counting the large point on the back of his head, made from the hair on the top to the bottom of his head. A short bang the shape of three 'v's (middle one is a bit longer) lays in the middle of his forehead. One strand of his midnight black hair on the left side lays diagonally, part of it covering a bit of his sapphire eyes.

"I-I umm...I'm gonna continue looking for water."

"Ok." He placed his hat on and smiled. I smiled back and walked into the dark forest. All of a sudden, the warmth I had back at the site vanished as I marched farther. Sounds of splashes were heard nearby. Water! Yes! I removed an empty bottle from my belt and ran towards the sound. The roars were increasingly loud. I guess there's a waterfall nearby. Because of the fact that I was running nonstop, it was too late to stop me when I fell straight into the lake and ended up soaked. Great, just what I needed. I filled the bottle with water and climbed out of the lake. As I walked back to the site, bits of fallen leaves and twigs got stuck to my arm. By the time I got to the site, I practically looked like a forest yeti or something. Laughter was heard and I looked at Danny who was looking at me. Ergh. I shook my arms and my head, getting rid of some leaves. Then I patted down my clothing.

"Hardeharhar. Anyways, I got some water." I poured some water onto the dried blood and rubbed his arm gently till it all disappeared. Then, just for the fun of it, I splashed the remaining contents of the bottle right into his face. He sputtered as water dripped from his hair. I chortled.

"Hey, that wasn't very kind of you!" he said, pushing me playfully. I couldn't help it. It was too hilarious to see him trying to be angry. Chuckling, he got up and started to chase me around the fire pit, sometimes even daring to jump through it to catch me. Hurriedly, I jumped and climbed a HUGE tree, entering the largely spaced hollow. I took a peek outside to see Danny struggling with climbing the great tree. After being about twelve feet above the ground, he fell. I quickly covered my eyes in fear that he was hurt. Oddly, I didn't hear anything.

**(Daniel's POV)**

Grappling hook. They're your best friend in climbing situations. I silently went up the tree until I got to the branch that leads to a hollow where Miki was closing her eyes. Quietly, I snuck around and behind her until...

"HA!" I yelled, grabbing her midsection and lifting her above the ground about four feet. She shrieked in surprise. We both went spiraling and fell to the ground, exasperated. After a couple moment, I heard a soft snore and turned to see Miki, all cuddled up beside me. I carefully wrapped my right arm around her, causing her to shift and use my chest as a pillow. My eyes started to droop and sleep took over.


	4. Lurking Abyssians

Chapter 4: Lurking Abyssians

**(Daniel's POV)**

Yawn. Great, morning. I peered through the opening of the hollow to inspect the sky. As always, no light was shone. Just the purple sky with deep violet clouds. I was about to drift off again until I heard a loud rattle from down below. Carefully, I placed Miki's head on the ground and poked my head out of the hollow. Shit. A few Abyssian troopers were sprawled across the site. But at least we brought our belongings with us and left only the fire pit and totaled aircraft behind.

"Ikait, lokimo yita monano." said one of the troopers. I quickly set my communicator into an Abyssian translator. "Guys, I sense a presence nearby." The other by the pit snorted.

"Your senses suck. It's probably some squirrels."

"I'm not kidding! This presence it's...it's INTENSIFYING!"

"Uh-huh and so is your stanky ass."

"But...it smells like those rotten Armadians!" At that comment, I wanted to jump out and give him a few swift kicks to the face, but that would risk our chance of getting past those guys.

"Armadians? Ha! I bet they're buried in the pile of junk and died!" he laughed, pointing at the fallen craft. Perfect, now they suspect that we died in that accident. "But hey, if you're sure about this, then we'll snoop around for a bit.

"Thanks." Fuck.

**(Michelle's POV)**

"Mmf...Danny?" My hand moved around and could only feel wood. "Danny?" I got up, and before I started to yawn, a hand lightly smacked and closed my mouth. "Ahhny?"

"Shh."

"Eh?"

"Don't...speak." he whispered. His eyes shifted to the left. The look of concern is in his eyes. I gaped at what they revealed.

"A-Abihians?" Silently, he nodded. I can't help but whimper.

"Hey don't worry. We'll manage to get pass them."

"Weally?"

"Yeah."

"...Now an you het oar and off of my mouf?" He released his hand and looked back at the site. "So how long are we going to wait?"

"We can't. They decided to investigate this area further."

"So we're...trapped?"

"No. Not if we're stealthy and quiet. Follow me." We grabbed our sacks and secretly exited the hollow. I knew Danny wasn't much of a tree climber, so I made him use the grappling hook. Once we set foot onto the ground, we snuck and hid behind the aircraft. This whole situation is like a video game or something, but this time you only have one life to spare. Quietly, Danny made a forward roll behind another tree leading deeper into the forest and motioned me to follow. I followed suit and ran. Leaves crunch as we headed to the falls. We turned our heads back once in a while to see if any of those Abyssians are following us. By the time we reached to the falls, we were desperately panting for air.

"Great, now what?" Danny didn't reply, but he pointed at the mountains far in the distance.

"I...think...we...need to go...over those mountains."

"What? I don't think we came from that direction..."

"It's either pass the mountains, or go through the arid desert-"

"Mountain." I had bad experiences with deserts before and I definitely DO NOT want to re-live the pain.

"All right." He shifted his bag and walked towards the rocky terrain. To tell the truth, I also had bad experiences with mountains too, but with the deserts, it was...more severe. And they say that mountains are more dangerous. Not in this region. I ran up to him.

"Um...can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"W-Why did you join the Armithian Task Forces in the first place?"

"...well...why did you?"

"Oh! Because I want to end this nightmare!"

"Nightmare?"

"The Abyssal Lord! I want to see the moonlights again!" He smiled.

"The moonlights are nice, aren't they?"

**(Daniel's POV)**

"Yes! White in the daytime and silver at night!" she cheered. I looked up at the sky.

"Did you know, in the regions below...they only see moonlights at night?" She stared at me, shocked.

"WHAT?! O-Only at night?!"

"Yep."

"But, what do they see in the morning?"

"I don't know. But it was described as bright, lovely, and warm." Miki stared at the clouds.

"Maybe...if we defeat the Lord one day, we can travel to the regions below and see it ourselves!" I had to say, she's full of high spirits. Wait...

"We?"

"Yep! You, me, and all those who dreamed of discovering new things!"

"Heh, you're full of life, aren't you?" She turned away, and I could see a tinge of pink on her face.

"I'm sorry. I guess I can be too excited. Especially about the moonlights." Then, Miki smiled at me and tilted her head slightly. "I just love to see the violet, green, pink, and blue moons by the main moon. It's like a sky, bursting with fluorescent colors."

"Yes, and the green moon rings."

"Ah, a starry night or day with colors...if only I could see them again. It's been nearly fourteen years ever since HE came. That fucking bas-"

"Hey, we're here. Lavastream Mountain." The name may sound ridiculous, but they didn't call it Lavastream for nothing. Streams of hot lava flows between every rock, hot enough to melt or severely burn a limb (or if really careless, the body). Where did they all come from if we live on top of a floating mass of land just above the regions below? No one exactly knows. "Alright, I'm really going to recommend you to follow me. Just in case if anything horrible happens along the way up."

"Ok..." I touched the closest rock. Warm. Good, cause if it's hot, the whole mountain would be on a verge of blowing up. "Alright, it's safe so far. Let's go." I pulled her up and together, we trudged up the large rocks. About halfway up, the ground and rocks beneath us shook violently.

"E-Earthquake?! Eeeaaaaaaagh!" Quickly, I spun around and grasped her hand. Aww shit. We're on a rock's ledge.

(?'s POV)

Yes! Perfect! That TNT buried in that mountain actually worked! That pesky female Armadian and that top 3 pilot/soldier of theirs won't get passed Lavastream Mountain with their lives. Now since that's done, might as well catch up with my pals and celebrate. The time of devastation is almost near.


	5. Shadows in the Dark

Chapter 5:Shadows in the Dark

**(Daniel's POV)**

Ergh...my arm. Grasping her arm, I slowly backed up. If I move too fast...she won't make it.

"Look out!" I turned my head to see an Abyssian whack me hard on the forehead with some kind of a blunt object. Staggering and dazed, I could only make out a blurry image of Miki, falling to her doom after receiving several stomps onto her fingers. Echoes of screams cut my mind and the next thing I knew, I rammed myself into the Abyssian, sending both of us down. Blackness enshrouded my vision. As soon as I came to, the first thing I noticed was the lifeless Abyssian lying right next to me. Man, what a scare. Their two prickly horns were blood red and covered with series of patterns, I guess used to identify themselves. Also, their body was taken shape of...a half human and dragon (no wings though.) In fact, they look so human, one could easily mistake them for unless if they see their horns, which is a clear sign. Spikes covered in deadly alteration poison protruded their backs. Their claws as sharp as an expert chef's knife. The three small pointed poison blades on the lower part of their arm under the wrists. They have a small black nose, a long, messy mane...and their eyes. As white and dead like a corpse of a fish. Such transcendence...so sickening. But it's strange how some of them wear clothes (elites?).Quickly, I hid the body behind a nearby rock. Seeing a dead Abyssian by another would cause a racket. Actually...where am I? I looked up to see illuminating, sharp icicle-like tanzanite stalactites. Holy...shit. Huge chunks of tanzanite protruded from the walls.

"D...A...N...N...Y..." That sound made a chill run up my spine. It sounded like a ghost, or something. God, my mind's going crazy. "D...A...N...N...Y..." That voice...Miki?!

"Miki? Miki?!"

"D...A...N...N...Y...W...H...E...R...E...A...R...E...Y...O...U?" For a moment, there was a static and I immediately knew that it was my communicator. I pressed the middle button to see Miki, scared and a bit battered.

"Miki! Are you ok?"

"Kinda. My fingers still sting though." She winced in pain. "What do you think started that earthquake?"

"I don't know. But I'm betting it's those Abyssians."

"How?"

"T.N.T? A bomb of some sort."

"Danny...judging by your background, are you in a cave of tanzanite stalactites?"

"Yeah, I guess. You?"

"...not even close to wherever you are. It's dark...eerie...shallow...and the atmosphere is somewhat...odd..."

"Miki, whatever you do, just try to find your way out."

"Ok. Out." The communicator's screen went black. I looked up at the overhead tanzanites once more. Somehow, one of them fell with a klunk on the floor by my foot and broke, taking shape of a rose. What the? I guess the cave has a mind of its own. But seriously?

"No. No way. Did you really think that?" I shouted, pointing at the rose. No reply. Carefully, I picked up the rose. This cave SERIOUSLY thought I was in love with Miki? Right, our chat. "Seriously?" No need to complain now. I have to find my way out of here. Even though the tanzanites provided light, it only did so here. The deeper part in the cave is pitch dark. Great. "Alright Danny, straight forward and use the gem rose as a source of light." I whispered to myself. Hey, gotta keep my sanity in check. I marched on, plunging deeper into the darkness. Hours passed ever since I left the lit area. The bright stone rose gave off a mysterious yet eerie aura. Right before I took another tiring step, I fell onto my knees. I was about to give in until I spotted a shadow disappearing behind a large stalagmite. "W-Wait!" I yelled, dashing towards the quick shadow. But when I arrived to the spot where the shadow is, I was shocked. Usually, a shadow is connected with an object, but this type of shadow...it has no physical form. AM I HALLUCINATING?! I touched the shadow, and for some reason, it shuddered. What the fuck?

**(Michelle's POV)**

"Eep!" I shrieked, shuddering. I turned around to see a taller (male?) shadow. Huh? The figure quickly retracted it's finger. For some reason, the shadow has a familiar shape to it...kinda like...Danny. "Danny?" No reply. The next thing I did was...kinda idiotic. I kept poking it. Or at least tried. The shadow jumped around, avoiding my pokes. After my twenty fifth attempt, I turned on my communicator and pressed the middle button.

"BZZT! BZZT! Hey Miki, umm I can't talk right now." What? I jabbed the shadow with my index finger. "AH! Shit!"

"What happened Danny?"

"It may sound crazy, but the shadow here just jabbed my chest!" The what?

"You have a shadow over there?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I think we're in the Cave of Shady Mirrors." Moments of silence passed by, and I'm guessing he's putting the two pieces together.

"...you're the one who poked me, didn't you?" I smiled.

"Uh-huh!"

"So, that means...we're in opposite dimension of some sort separated by the mountain. And we can only visually see each other as a shadow. Huh. That means, if I find a shadow of an Abyssian-"

"Hey, I'm gonna be all right."

"Not sure about your hand. How are you supposed to shoot?"

"I'll manage."

"Wait, if I shoot this stalactite..." Then, Danny's shadow picked up his gun, and shot a laser (shadow to me) at a nearby stalactite, causing it to fall and shatter. "I guess even shadows can destroy things."

"So both of us are in trouble when an Abyssian shows up."

"Pretty much, yeah." Suddenly, a low moan was heard and a horned shadow appeared.

"We're screwed."

"Shit! Hide!" We both dove behind a rock and hid, carefully watching as the Abyssian walked by, taking no notice of us.


End file.
